Schleich builds on well-known licenses, innovations and the fastest-growing product line Eldrador® Creatures in 2024

The toy industry struggled with difficult macroeconomic conditions last year: inflation, high energy prices, full retail warehouses, labour shortages and consumer reticence affected many manufacturers. The high levels of demand for toys seen during the pandemic years have declined, and spending is muted. Overall, the toy industry has seen declining sales across many countries in 2023. Schleich, the leading provider of realistic toy figurines, also finds itself confronted with these post-pandemic developments. It has concluded the 2023 business year with a declining annual revenue of EUR 234 million. This puts the company 15% below the previous year’s result (2022: EUR 275 million).

Despite all difficulties, Schleich had some success stories in 2023: ELDRADOR® CREATURES became its fastest-growing product range worldwide, with sales growth in the double-digit percentage range. The launch of Wizarding World™ in September 2023, featuring the famous characters of the Harry Potter™ series, was enormously popular with children and adults alike. Progress has been made in the field of sustainability, too.

A powerful organisation to fuel international growth
Schleich started 2024 with a new organisational structure centred around its new CEO, Stefan De Loecker. He looks back on a long and varied career trajectory in the international FMCG sector, having worked for Nestlé, Tesco and, most recently, as the CEO of Beiersdorf. De Loecker brings a wealth of experience in brand development, innovation, internationalisation and sustainability to the table – topics that will decisively shape the future of Schleich.

“The schleich® brand has great potential in the international toy market thanks to its unique design quality, the fun it provides and the educational value for various age groups. Schleich already sells more than 35 million toy figurines worldwide, over 60% of which are sold outside of Germany – in particular, in Europe and North America. Developing the brand with a focus on innovation and sustainability will release its full potential and boost its global business by increasing market share”, said Stefan De Loecker.

Stefan De Loecker is supported by a strong management team consisting of four strategic divisions. They are headed by CMO Kristina von Troschke, COO Martin Kaltenbach, President Schleich North America David Albert and Vice President Sales Europe and APAC & Managing Director Udo Rother. Together, they will guide Schleich through its next growth phase and establish a powerful organisation.

Stefan De Loecker continued: “Our team of managers is committed to making the company more agile, simpler and faster in order to achieve the greatest possible quality and effect with its plans.”

Well-known licences and trends for 2024
Following last year’s launch, Wizarding World™ has become one of Schleich’s most successful licences worldwide. In 2024, we will focus on news from this magical world and another much-beloved licence: The School of Magical Animals”, explains Kristina von Troschke, Chief Marketing Officer of Schleich GmbH. The new product range will enchant fans of the successful book and film series with six popular individual figurines. ELDRADOR® CREATURES, the fastest-growing product range, will gain a new concept: the BattleCaves, which caters to children‘s desire for competitive play. The cage-like cubes come with exciting functions and a modular play concept. With its new HORSE CLUB riding arena, Schleich seeks to delight horse enthusiasts and build on the success of its Horse transporter, which ranked among Germany’s best-selling toys for several weeks in 2023.

The transformation into a sustainable player within the circular economy bears fruit
Schleich will be optimising and certifying its products and packaging to the standards of the Cradle to Cradle® circular economy by the end of 2027 to ensure that resources are reused. Among other things, this means that Schleich figurines can be recycled while maintaining the same quality. The new year will see an initial milestone as the first Cradle to Cradle® figurines hit the market.

Schleich’s sustainability goals secured the company two awards in 2023. It won the German award for sustainability projects in the product recycling category and was one of three finalists in the toys and leisure products category of the German Sustainability Award. Abroad, Schleich won the Italian Gioco X Sempre Award for its sustainability strategy in 2023. Other sustainability initiatives included the launch of a schleich® recycling programme in Germany, a collaboration with the toy rental service Tribu Box and the start of production in Mexico, which will enable the company to supply North America and other regions faster and in a more climate-friendly way.